Ogilvy has announced the promotion of Ant Simmons to Executive Creative Director (ECD) of its Melbourne office, recognizing his outstanding contributions and leadership within the agency. With over two decades of industry experience, Simmons first joined Ogilvy in October 2023 as Group Creative Director, quickly making his mark with his creative expertise. Since then, he has played a pivotal role in crafting award-winning campaigns for leading brands such as AAMI and GIO, while also spearheading creative direction for the Mondelez portfolio of FMCG brands.
Throughout his tenure, Simmons has collaborated closely with outgoing ECD Hilary Badger, working to further strengthen Ogilvy’s creative capabilities and nurture the agency’s next generation of talent. Badger, after a successful tenure at Ogilvy, has transitioned into a new role as ECD at Leo Australia in Melbourne.
Simmons’ promotion signals an exciting new chapter for Ogilvy Melbourne, reinforcing the agency’s commitment to bold, innovative, and strategic creativity under his leadership.
Welcoming Simmons to the team, Gavin MacMillan, Ogilvy Melbourne Managing Director, said, “Since joining Ogilvy, Ant’s strong creative nous combined with a laser focus on craft has seen him take an ever-growing role across the agency’s creative output. He’s been a champion of developing world-class work particularly within the FMCG sector and brings great perspective and observations on the world around us, and how it affects consumer behaviour. His natural ability to mentor and lead is a great fit for Ogilvy, and we’re excited that he has chosen to take this next step with our team.”
MacMillan, further added, “We are also incredibly grateful to Hilary for her role in fostering creative talent and leadership, and we’ve loved having her as part of our award-winning team. But we also recognise her desire to take the next step in her career and wish her well. Her ability to build great talent around her has enabled us to have full confidence in Ant’s ability to shift into this broader leadership role.”
On taking up the new role, Simmons, said, “It’s been a highly productive period at Ogilvy, a strong reflection of the talent in the agency and the ambition to create effective work across all client teams. With arguably some of Australia’s most trusted brands as clients, we are in a privileged position to apply creativity to solve their commercial ambitions. I couldn’t be more excited about working with Gavin, Danielle and the Melbourne team, who are all the best in the business. And of course, continuing to work with Toby Talbot who not only inspires the best creativity but also seems to have an endless supply of ‘ugly-cry’ inducing funny stories.”
“Ogilvy has long been recognised as an agency with creativity and effectiveness in its DNA. We believe in Return on Creativity – ROC – and having someone of the calibre of Hilary Badger take that belief and supercharge it across iconic Aussie brands has been a privilege for me. I wish Hil only the best. She will always be a friend to me and to the broader Ogilvy family. But now is a new chapter. With Ant’s global view and local knowledge teamed with Max McKeon, our new Sydney ECD, this is the time for borderless creativity to really come into its own for Ogilvy Australia.” said Toby Talbot, Ogilvy Network ANZ Chief Creative Officer.
Before joining Hilary at Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, Simmons served as Asia Pacific Creative Director at the global branding agency Elmwood, where he played a key role in shaping brand identities across the region. His career also includes impactful tenures at leading agencies such as GPY&R Melbourne and DDB Sydney, where he honed his creative expertise. Beyond advertising, Simmons ventured into entrepreneurship, launching Do Water—Australia’s first renewable paperboard bottled water, demonstrating his commitment to sustainability and innovation.
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